Blog | Dr Clare Jonas — That Thinking Feeling

How do we develop our sense of left and right? How it can go wrong? And why can sudden left-right confusion tell us that someone is having a stroke?

but why, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, individual differencesClare Jonas18 December 2024directions, language, strokeComment

Why some of us are bad at maths

Why are some of us good at maths and some of us bad at maths?

developmental psychology, cognitive psychology, but whyClare Jonas7 November 2023nature/nurture debate, maths, memory, gender, learning, childhoodComment

How does information get from the eyes to the brain?

Your brain’s doing its best, but what you see isn’t reality. It's more like a useful hallucination that lets you interact with the world.

brain biology, perceptionClare Jonas21 May 2023vision, animals, braaaaaaiiins, colour, hallucinations, shed catComment

How to echolocate

Navigating by sound isn’t just for bats! If you can hear, you can probably learn to echolocate. Find out how.

how to, perceptionClare Jonas15 April 2023learning, deafness, hearing, vision, navigation, bodies, sensesComment

How to remember people's names

We’ve all forgotten someone’s name at one point or another. Here’s how to reduce the chances of that happening.

how to, individual differences, cognitive psychologyClare Jonas12 June 2022memory, ageing, names, language, faces, learningComment

Why we sigh

Is sighing about feelings, thoughts, or maybe both at once?

cognitive psychology, social psychology, individual differences, but whyClare Jonas10 April 2022emotion, bodies, mood, thinking, mathsComment

The ugly side of cuteness

What makes an animal cute, and why is that sometimes a bad thing?

perception, evolutionary psychologyClare Jonas28 February 2022animals, faces, babiesComment

How to give good gifts

If you've ever faced the struggle of giving the right gift, then good news: I’ve been reading the research on gift-giving and I have some science-based tips!

social psychology, how toClare Jonas22 November 2021gifts, belief, choices, emotion, mood, possessionsComment

Dreams that come true: coincidence or precognition?

Ever had a dream that predicted the future? Let’s talk about whether it was a coincidence or not…

cognitive psychology, hallowe'enClare Jonas30 October 2021dreaming, belief, memoryComment

How many senses do humans have?

Spoiler alert: it’s far more than five

perception, brain biologyClare Jonas30 August 2021senses, animals, bodies, philosophy, magnetsComment

How to make food taste better – with psychology

… and why this research could get us to Mars.

how to, perception, individual differences, but whyClare Jonas6 June 2021food, culture, bodies, travelComment

Why people collect celebrity memorabilia

How much would you pay for a half-eaten slice of Vegemite toast?

cognitive psychology, social psychology, but whyClare Jonas4 April 2021celebrities, belief, possessions, mementos, contagion, memoryComment

How to cope with a stressful wait

Struggling with your mental health in COVID lockdown? Me too. Find out how research on stressful waiting can help you deal with it.

A trip to the Uncanny Valley

Ever wonder why we find some robots and puppets creepy? Now’s your chance to find out…

individual differences, evolutionary psychology, hallowe'en, social psychologyClare Jonas23 October 2020technology, culture, emotion, robotsComment

What is aphantasia?

Can you see the world in your mind’s eye, or is it all a blank? Come find out why not everyone has mental imagery.

Why we can't remember being born

Does the memory of your own birth disappear? Or was it never there in the first place?

What is synaesthesia?

I spent 10 years researching synaesthesia and I’ve squashed all my knowledge into one blog!

perception, individual differences, what is...?Clare Jonas13 June 2020senses, creativity, aut, memory, hypnosis, colour, ageingComment

Clare explains: What is the Rule of 3?

With comedian Rachel Wheeley, I explore why you need three things for a funny list

clare explains, what is...?, guest blogClare Jonas30 May 2020humour, languageComment

Why it's so difficult to describe smells

I thought it was about brain structure, but it’s actually about language!

individual differences, perception, but whyClare Jonas16 May 2020smell, language, comm, linguistics, sensesComment

Why we copy others’ way of speaking

Ever wonder why you sound different depending on who you’re talking to? Come find out!

cognitive psychology, social psychology, but whyClare Jonas12 April 2020communication, words, speech, geographyComment

Psychology's answers to everyday questions, in blog form!